When I was selected for the British Racing School in Newmarket, I thought I was stepping into a structured, professional training program. What I actually walked into was an endurance test of pain, high-stakes yard politics, and a wild baptism of fire into the real racing world.
Here is a short preview of Chapter 2:
Sitting in the interview room, they weighed us first. You read that right - they weighed us.
Then came the riding test. I had never sat on a racehorse in my life, nor had I ever ridden in a half-tree racing saddle, which feels essentially like riding bareback. They put my stirrups up short (as a dressage rider, I was used to riding long) and made us walk and trot around the indoor school, standing up in our irons. It was a brutal endurance race to see who would break first. Even though my legs were in absolute agony, I was so determined not to be the first one to sit down.
I made the cut. But learning to ride short at the Racing School was just the beginning.
Soon, we were sent into town for evening stables at elite yards. I landed a placement at Luca Cumani’s famous Bedford Stables, looking after top-class fillies like Pongee and Damask Rose. On paper, it was a dream setup: flint-walled barns, climbing roses, and pristine thoroughbreds.
But behind the scenes, the reality was raw. One evening, I unknowingly walked straight into a full-blown physical fight in the barn between two adult staff members over yard tension. As a sheltered teenager who had never even seen a fight at my all-girls school, I was terrified and hid inside my horse's stable until they were separated.
Newmarket was showing me its true colours - the beauty, the extreme discipline, the hidden dangers, and the chaotic world I was trying so hard to break into...
🔒 Want to read the rest of Chapter 2?
In the full draft of Chapter 2, I cover:
Surviving the British Racing School’s "no such word as can't" culture.
What it was really like doing evening stables for legendary trainer Luca Cumani.
The dark, unforgettable events happening around Newmarket at the time that proved just how high-stakes this world really was.
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